January 19, 2016. EN. Zhupanovsky , Mauna Loa , Nevado Del Ruiz .

Zhupanovsky , Kamchatka :

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, January 19.

The Zhupanovsky volcano in Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday released ash to the height of 8 kilometers above the sea level after almost two months of relative calm, a member of the local group of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has said. « Today at around 4.30 p.m. local time [3.30 a.m. GMT] the Zhupanovsky volcano spewed ash to the height of up to 8 kilometers [5 miles] above the sea level. The ash column could be seen with the naked eye from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and some other settlements, » the scientist said. Experts said the ash cloud spreads in the eastern direction towards the Pacific Ocean.

The populated areas are currently not under threat. « At the moment, the ash cloud has spread to 20 kilometers and it continues moving towards the ocean, » the member of the group said. An « orange » code of warning for the aviation has been issued. Travel companies have been asked not to organize tours to the areas close to the Zhupanovsky volcano. The Aviation Color Codes reflect four levels of danger posed for civilian aircraft overflying areas adjacent to volcanoes and range from ‘Green’ to ‘Red’ codes.

Result of explosive activity and collapses of a part of active Priemysh cone on 30 November, 2015: collapse deposits and mud flows deposits of the southern flank of Zhupanovsky volcano.

According to the International Airways Volcano Watch system (IAVW) the ‘Orange’ code stands for « Volcano is exhibiting heightened unrest with increased likelihood of eruption » or « Volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission. » The Zhupanovsky volcano is located in eastern Kamchatka, some 70 kilometers north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Zhupanovsky is one of the least studied volcanoes in the region despite its proximity to a large city. It is a complex volcano composed of four overlapping cones aligned on a roughly east-west oriented axis, with the highest cone reaching 2,958 meters high, and the lowest one being 2,505 meters high.

Source : Tass

Photos :videodata, KB GS RAS , A.Sokurenko, IVSFEB RAS

Mauna Loa , Hawai :

18 JANUARY 2016. Two earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 3.0 were recorded early Monday in the vicinity of the Mauna Loa summit. The first temblor, a magnitude-3.9, struck at 1:52 a.m. about 4.1 miles north-northeast of the Mauna Loa summit. It had a registered depth of 7.5 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Eleven people reported feeling the earthquake; most of the reports were made by those in the Captain Cook area.

The second, a magnitude-3.0, was recorded at 4:01 a.m. about 3.8 miles south-southwest of the Mauna Loa summit. It had a registered depth of 1.5 miles. Just three people reported feeling the earthquake; two were in Captain Cook and one was in Kailua-Kona.

An aerial view of the 1940 cinder-and-spatter cone on the floor of Mauna Loa’s summit caldera as seen from the southeast. The west wall of the caldera (background) is about 170 m (560 feet) high. Most of the caldera floor around the cone is covered by lava flows erupted in 1984.

Neither earthquake prompted an advisory from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu. Since Sept. 17, when scientists at the observatory upped the Volcano Alert Level for Mauna Loa from “normal” to “advisory,” elevated seismicity within the volcano and deformation across its flanks persist, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

In the past week, earthquakes have been occurring mostly beneath the volcano’s upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than 3 miles, scientists said. The magnitude-3.0 temblor that struck Monday was located in this region, while the first earthquake was located on the north side of the volcano.

GPS measurements continue to show deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir complex beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.